Chief People Officer

Mervyn Thomas

Biography

Mervyn Thomas became Chief People Officer at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in February 2021.

Since joining the Civil Service in 2007, Mervyn has held senior roles across the Civil Service, including Group HR Director roles for the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Transport and Cabinet Office. He also launched the Civil Service talent strategy; the Generalist Fast Stream Programme; and sponsored the establishment of the Civil Service People Survey.

Previously, Mervyn was HR Director for the Corporate Banking businesses at the Royal Bank of Scotland and European HR Director for the Citigroup Investment Banking.

Chief People Officer

The Chief People Officer is responsible for leading the HR function within the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and its global network of 16,700 staff. They are a member of the FCDO Management Board and the Civil Service HR Function Board.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

Previous roles in government

  • Executive Director for Employee and Trade Union Relations